Shielding device for protection of floaters of an inflatable boat

ABSTRACT

The present invention concerns a device for protecting by shielding an inflatable boat with floaters.  
     The device is characterized in that it comprises shielding plates ( 5 ) which are fastened in a juxtaposed arrangement to the external faces of the floaters ( 2,3 ) along their entire length and which are made of a light material which is resistant to the impacts of ordnance.  
     The invention is applied in the nautical field.

[0001] The present invention concerns a device for protection by shielding an inflatable boat with floaters.

[0002] Various solutions have already been proposed to shield floating craft against powerful shoulder-held weapons.

[0003] One of these solutions consists of using a shielding material made of Kevlar in the form of a flexible fabric which, while not causing any large excess weight of the craft, is not sufficiently resistant to the impact of ordnance, for example, of calibers NATO 7.62, NATO 5.56, or 7.62×39.

[0004] Another known solution consists of using shielding material based on ceramics or a metal alloy which is sufficiently resistant to impacts of ordnance, but which causes a high excess weight of the craft, due to its relatively high weight per m².

[0005] In addition, the various means used to date to fasten the shielding device to the hull of the craft are relatively complex and expensive.

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above drawbacks by proposing a device for protection by shielding an inflatable boat with floaters, which is characterized in that it comprises shielding plates which are fastened, in a juxtaposed arrangement, to the external faces of the floaters along their entire length, and which are made of a light material which is resistant to impacts of ordnance.

[0007] It is preferred for each shielding plate to be fastened in a removable manner to the external side of the corresponding floater by at least one strap which transversely holds the plate to the floater by being passed through an attachment ring which is fastened to the floater under the bottom part of the plate and whose two free ends are engaged in two tightening rings fastened to the internal face of the floater located inside the boat.

[0008] Advantageously, each shielding plate is fastened to the external face of the corresponding floater by two longitudinally spaced straps transversely holding the plate to the floater by being passed through two attachment rings fastened to the floater, respectively, under the bottom part of the plate, where the two free ends of each strap are engaged in two fastening rings attached to the internal side of the floater located inside the boat.

[0009] Each shielding plate is enclosed in a cover made of fabric and each strap made of fabric has an internal strand which is fastened by sewing to the internal face of the cover which is in contact with the external face of the floater, and its external strand is in contact with the external face of the cover.

[0010] It is preferred for the cover to be made of a fabric based on Hypalon™ and neoprene.

[0011] The adjacent shielding plates are fastened to each other by detachable connection means.

[0012] It is preferred for each connection means connecting two adjacent shielding plates to comprise a strap which extends longitudinally with respect to the floater and which has one of its ends fastened by sewing to the external side of the cover containing one of the two adjacent shielding plates, while the opposite end of the strap engages in two tightening rings integrally connected to the external face of the other adjacent shielding plate by traversing its associated cover.

[0013] Each strap for connecting two adjacent shielding plates has one end sewn to the cover which is directed toward the front of the boat and its opposite end is engaged in the two rings directed toward the back of the boat.

[0014] The shielding plates are made by molding and they match the external shape of the floater.

[0015] Advantageously, the shielding plates descend approximately to the flotation line of the boat.

[0016] Each shielding plate is made of a composite material based on polyethylene with unidirectional fibers and vinyl ester resin.

[0017] The composite material comprises approximately 80 wt % polyethylene and approximately 20 wt % resin.

[0018] The material advantageously comprises four layers of polyethylene fibers with the unidirection fibers of a layer oriented at 90° with respect to the unidirectional fibers of an adjacent layer.

[0019] The material has a weight of 17 kg per m².

[0020] The invention will be better understood, and other purposes, characteristics, details and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in the explanatory description made below with reference to the schematic drawings in the appendix which are only given as examples illustrating an embodiment variant of the invention, in which:

[0021]FIG. 1 is a top view of an inflatable boat comprising the shielding device of the invention;

[0022]FIG. 2 is a side view along the arrow II of the boat of FIG. 1;

[0023]FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view representing in a detailed manner the fastening of the shielding plates to a floater of the inflatable boat; and

[0024]FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the circled part at IV of FIG. 3.

[0025] With reference to the figures, reference numeral 1 denotes an inflatable boat of the type with floaters comprising, in this case, two lateral floaters 2 and a front floater 3 having a substantially curved shape, connecting the two lateral floaters 2. The floaters 2, 3 can be made of a single part in which air is inflated as is known.

[0026] The floaters 2, 3 are connected to each other, at their bottom part, by a part 4 forming the transport floor for persons.

[0027] The inflatable boat 1 is driven by a heat engine (not shown) located in the back of the boat.

[0028] In addition, the floaters 2, 3 can be of the type with cylindrical envelopes or sausages.

[0029] According to the invention, the inflatable boat 1 comprises a device for the protection by shielding of the floaters 2, 3.

[0030] This shielding device consists of shielding plates 5 which are fastened in a removable manner and in a juxtaposed arrangement to the external faces of the floaters along their entire length.

[0031] More specifically, each shielding plate 5, which is preferably made by molding, in part matches the external shape of the corresponding floater and it is fastened to it by two straps 6 which are longitudinally separated, each transversely holding the plate 5 to the floater.

[0032] Each fastening strap 6 passes through an attachment ring 7 fastened to the floater under the bottom part of the plate 5, and the two free ends of the two strands of the strap located on each side of the plate 5 engage in two rings 8 which are parallel and close to each other to allow a tightening of the strap by pulling at its two ends, as is known in itself.

[0033] The two tightening and locking rings 8 of the two ends of a strap 6 are fastened to the internal face of the corresponding floater 2, 3 located inside the boat. The free ends of the two strands of the strap 6 can be folded over the external strand portion of the strap and held to it by appropriate means so that they are not freely hanging.

[0034] It is preferred, as shown only in FIG. 4, for each shielding plate 5 to be enclosed in a cover 9 made of a fabric based on Hypalon™ and neoprene resulting in tightened close contact with the external face and the internal face of the shielding plate 5. In this case, each strap made of fabric 6, is fastened by its internal strand to the corresponding internal face of the cover 9 which is in contact with the corresponding external face of the floaters 2, 3 and, naturally, the other external strand of the strap 6 is in contact on the external face of the cover. Advantageously, the cover has a fabric which is fastened by gluing to the corresponding shielding plate 5.

[0035] The adjacent shielding plates 5 are attached two by two to each other by a detachable connection means consisting of a strap 10 which extends longitudinally with respect to the floaters 2, 3 and which has one of its ends fastened by sewing to the external face of the cover 9 containing one of the adjacent shielding plates 5, while the opposite end of the strap 10 engages in two rings 11, which are integrally connected to the external face of the other adjacent shielding plate 5, by traversing the associated cover 9 so as to tighten and lock the end of the strap 10 by traction on itself, as is known in itself and represented in FIG. 4.

[0036] Naturally, in the absence of a cover, each strap connecting two adjacent shielding plates 5 will have one of its ends integrally connected to one of the two plates and its other end passing through the two locking rings 11 which are integrally connected to the other plate.

[0037] It is preferred for the straps 10 for connecting shielding plates 5 to be located in the vicinity of the top part of the plates 5 to be accessible to a person on the boat.

[0038] As shown in the figures, the connecting straps 10 for connecting the shielding plates 5 which are fastened to the side floaters 2 have their ends fastened to the corresponding plates 5 located toward the front, in the direction of movement of the boat, while the opposite ends of the straps fastened to the rings 11 are directed toward the back of the boat. In other words, the tightening of the straps 11 [sic; 10] occurs from the front to the back of the boat in the direction of passing water during the displacement of the boat.

[0039] The rings 7, 8 and 11 are made of stainless steel.

[0040] The shielding plates 5 ensure a protection of the boat starting approximately at the peak of the floaters 2, 3 and descending, on the side of the boat, practically to its flotation line.

[0041] As an example, each plate can have a length of approximately 1 m and a width or height of approximately 40 cm.

[0042] Advantageously, each shielding plate 5 is made of a composite material based on polyethylene with unidirectional fibers which do not cross and of resin, preferably of the vinyl ester type, where the composite material comprises 80 wt % polyethylene and approximately 20 wt % resin.

[0043] This material can comprise four layers with unidirectional fibers made of polyethylene which are connected by the resin, where each polyethylene layer has unidirectional fibers which are oriented at 90% [sic; 90°] with respect to the unidirectional fibers of an adjacent layer.

[0044] For information, the composite material can have a thickness of 18 mm and a weight of 17 kg per m² so that, to protect the external part of an inflatable boat with a length of 6.40 m 6.6 m² of this material will be sufficient, which will be reflected in an overloading of the inflatable boat of approximately 113 kg.

[0045] The above described shielding device of the invention ensures an excellent resistance to the impacts of ordnance having a caliber of NATO 7.62, NATO 5.56 and 7.62×39. without causing an overloading of the boat in comparison to the protection material made of ceramics used earlier which caused excess weight of the craft due to an excess weight which is practically three times greater than that resulting from the shielding device of the invention. In other words, the principal qualities of the inflatable boat, namely its lightness, its rapid speed of displacement and its stability on the water, are maintained in spite of the presence of the shielding plates of the invention. Finally, the shielding plates accommodated in their respective covers can be easily mounted on the floaters of the boat and disconnected from the latter, without the need of special tools, until the operator merely has to tighten or loosen the fastening angles [sic; straps] of the covers or of the floaters. 

1. Device for protection by shielding an inflatable boat (1) with floaters (2,3), characterized in that it comprises shielding plates (5) which are attached along their entire length and which are made of a light material which is resistant to the impacts of ordnance.
 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that each shielding plate (5) is transversely fastened in a removable manner to the external face of the corresponding floater (2,3) by at least one strap (6) holding the plate (5) to the floater by being passed through an attachment ring (7) which is fastened to the floater under the lower part of the plate (5), and whose two free ends are engaged in the two tightening rings (8) fastened to the internal face of the floater located inside the boat (1).
 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that each shielding plate (5) is fastened to the external face of the corresponding floater by two longitudinally spaced straps (6) which transversely hold the plate (5) to the floater by being passed through two attachment rings (7), respectively, which are attached to the floater under the bottom part of the plate (5), wherein the two free ends of each strap (6) are engaged in two tightening rings (8) attached to the internal face of the floater located inside the boat.
 4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that each shielding plate (5) is enclosed with a cover made of fabric (9), and each strap made of fabric, (6), has its internal strand fastened by sewing to the internal face of the cover (9) which is in contact with the external face of the floater and its external strand is in contact with the external face of the cover.
 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the cover (9) is made of a fabric based on Hypalon™ or neoprene.
 6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjacent shielding plates (5) are fastened to each other by detachable connection means (10).
 7. Device according to claim 6, when considered in combination with claim 4 or 5, characterized in that each means for connecting two adjacent shielding plates (5) comprises a strap (10) which extends longitudinally with respect to the floater and which has one of its ends fastened by sewing to the external face of the cover (9) containing one of the two adjacent shielding plates, while the opposite end of the strap (10) is engaged with two tightening rings (11) which are integrally connected to the external face of the other adjacent shielding plate by traversing the associated cover (9).
 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that each connection strap (10) for connecting two adjacent shielding plates (5) has one end sewn to the cover directed toward the front of the boat and its opposite end engaged in the two rings (11) directed toward the back of the latter.
 9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shielding plates (5) are made by molding and they match the external shape of the floater (2,3).
 10. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shielding plates (5) descend approximately to the flotation line of the boat (1).
 11. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each shielding plate (5) is made of a composite material based on polyethylene with unidirectional fibers and of vinyl ester resin.
 12. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the composite material comprises approximately 80 wt % polyethylene and approximately 20 wt % resin.
 13. Device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the material comprises four layers of fibers made of polyethylene with the unidirectional fibers of one layer oriented at 90° with respect to the unidirectional fibers of an adjacent layer.
 14. Device according to one of claims 11-13, characterized in that the material has a weight of 17 kg per m². 